title: Functional assessment and performance evaluation for assistive robotic manipulators: Literature review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The user interface development of assistive robotic manipulators can be traced back to the 1960s. Studies include kinematic designs, cost-efficiency, user experience involvements, and performance evaluation. This paper is to review studies conducted with clinical trials using activities of daily living (ADLs) tasks to evaluate performance categorized using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) frameworks, in order to give the scope of current research and provide suggestions for future studies.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a literature search of assistive robotic manipulators from 1970 to 2012 in PubMed, Google Scholar, and University of Pittsburgh Library System - PITTCat.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twenty relevant studies were identified.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Studies were separated into two broad categories: user task preferences and user-interface performance measurements of commercialized and developing assistive robotic manipulators. The outcome measures and ICF codes associated with the performance evaluations are reported. Suggestions for the future studies include (1) standardized ADL tasks for the quantitative and qualitative evaluation of task efficiency and performance to build comparable measures between research groups, (2) studies relevant to the tasks from user priority lists and ICF codes, and (3) appropriate clinical functional assessment tests with consideration of constraints in assistive robotic manipulator user interfaces. In addition, these outcome measures will help physicians and therapists build standardized tools while prescribing and assessing assistive robotic manipulators.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA. Joshua.Grace@gmail.com
authors.forename: Cheng-Shiu
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Chung
authors.forename: Hongwu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Rory A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Cooper
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D002986:Clinical Trials as Topic; D016208:Databases, Factual / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006233:Persons with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D012371:Robotics / Q000379:methods*